Girl jumped into the sink and there was water in a pan , and then after that I fed her formula that was slightly to thick I was not coming off y ge spoon easy I didnt feed it all to her I cleaned up as best I could and cuddled her for a min and put her to bed ill be home tonight at 8 but ill have my mom check on her through out the day to make sure she is ok im really struggling this wasnt how its supposed to be. I just want to be a good bird mom and do right by her but im struggling since I dont know what im doing shes supposed to be almost fully weaned
I messed up, blue crown stunted 10 weeks old
- Thread starter Lbrooks
- Start date
Vampiric_Conure
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- May 16, 2022
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Weaning is a tough process for both the handler and baby bird. Baby birds know they need to eat, but their food is changing, and the handler is going 'You should be weaned by now!' It'll be good to wean the baby at their pace.
As for the pan - they'll be fine as long as they have their usual place to rest and were cleaned up before being put away. **Hugs** If you have any more questions, feel free to ask
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As for the pan - they'll be fine as long as they have their usual place to rest and were cleaned up before being put away. **Hugs** If you have any more questions, feel free to ask
.
DonnaBudgie
Well-known member
How did you mess up? Don't worry. As long as she is gaining weight and growing she's not stunted. Stunt3d is when they arent growing any more and your girl is still gaining weight. Just keep feeding her and she will be okay. The formula should be like applesauce or thick yogurt- not so thick that its like paste or glue. She will keep growing and catch up. Don't try weaning her until she weighs about 180 grams which is 90% of full adult weight.
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- #4
Hmm my understanding blue crowns adult weight is between 140 to 190 from what i been seeing any way. She has going to more g she is now 116 g so shes doing really good everyday she is gaining
DonnaBudgie
Well-known member
I just googled Blue C
DonnaBudgie
Well-known member
I just googled Blue Crowned Conure to get the weight I quoted. Now that I look at several other sources I see 140 to 190 grams so you'll be there in a couple weeks.
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DonnaBudgie
Well-known member
Did she vomit the food up? Be careful not to overfeed her! If she inhales even a small amount of formula she will die of aspiration pneumonia if any food gets into her lungs.
You should only put as much food in her mouth as she can swallow. In fact, unless you have a lot of experience, it's very dangerous to use a syringe to feed a b2aby parrot.
I have handraised baby budgies from hatching, when they only weigh 2 grams, and have never used a syringe. I use a small plastic spoon heated, melted and shaped into a funnel. The baby feeds from the edge of the bent spoon and takes only as much food as he can safely swallow. The babies grew normally and matured on schedule into healthy adults. I didn't wean them completely until they were 10 to 12 weeks old.
If your baby shows any signs of being unwell such as difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, or are lethargic you need to take her to an avian vet right away because aspiration pneumonia will be fatal if not treated very quickly. Don't ever try to force feed the baby if she doesn't want to eat. It will only make it worse.
You should only put as much food in her mouth as she can swallow. In fact, unless you have a lot of experience, it's very dangerous to use a syringe to feed a b2aby parrot.
I have handraised baby budgies from hatching, when they only weigh 2 grams, and have never used a syringe. I use a small plastic spoon heated, melted and shaped into a funnel. The baby feeds from the edge of the bent spoon and takes only as much food as he can safely swallow. The babies grew normally and matured on schedule into healthy adults. I didn't wean them completely until they were 10 to 12 weeks old.
If your baby shows any signs of being unwell such as difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, or are lethargic you need to take her to an avian vet right away because aspiration pneumonia will be fatal if not treated very quickly. Don't ever try to force feed the baby if she doesn't want to eat. It will only make it worse.
DonnaBudgie
Well-known member
That's good. I always get scared when members are handfeeding a baby. A couple of years ago I was communicating with a young man in Malaysia who was hand feeding a 4 week old cockatiel with a syringe. He accidentally pushed too hard on the syringe barrel and shot too much food in his baby's mouth. Two days later the baby died. I was so sad because it was so avoidable.
DonnaBudgie
Well-known member
It's okay if she tastes the pellets along with her hand feedings. She should be ready to start weaning in a couple weeks. She's really cute! What's her name?
DonnaBudgie
Well-known member
When I was handfeeding baby budgies and they were getting close to weaning age I would mix very small pellets into their formula to get them used to the taste and texture. I used Harrisons super fine but any very small good quality pellets for birds would be good. I'd use the brand you intend to feed her as an adult.
rheashard2
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- Nov 15, 2024
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Good that she's tasting other foods. Keep offering a few pellets. That will aid in weaning. Sounds like you're doing a great job.
Torukyyg
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- Aug 18, 2025
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- Hahn’s macaw and an Illigers Macaw.
I raised 3 sun conures last summer and it really helped me to soak blend and mix in pellets with their formula. It got them used to the taste, later on I would mix formula with crushed (not soaked) pellets so they can try out the new texture with a familiar taste. I did find that most larger conures take a longer time to wean, my green cheek conures would wean at 10 weeks generally and my sunconures took nearly 18 weeks. You can do this! Handraising is hard but it is so very rewarding!
DonnaBudgie
Well-known member
She adorable and looks great! I hear that blue crowned conures are terrific birds. Youve doneva reallyvgood jib raising her. Hand feeding a bird is an amazing experience but as you know it's a lot of work. The crying is baby bird begging behavior and it will slowly stop as she weans. She's a few weeks behind schedule growing but she's catching up so a couple more weeks of hand feeding and she should be up to about to 140- 150 grams. At that weight you should be able to start weaning her onto pellets and veggies. I would reserve her favorite seeds for training treats. Most conures like sunflower seeds and safflower seeds. Mixing crushed pellets into her formula now will help her wean onto pellets later. It could take a few weeks of slowly reducing her hand feedings as she eats on her own before she no longer accepts hand feedings. Some babies take longer than others to wean but dont rush it.
The last hand feeding you drop should be at bedtime because you don't want her to go to sleep with an empty crop. While she's weaning you should provide her with lots of nutritious foods all day for her to pick at and taste. Keep weighing her while weaning to make sure she doesn't start to drop too much weight. While weaning, her crop will start to shrink. Adult birds don't have a huge crop like babies do because they need to be more streamlined for flying. She may lose some weight while weaning and that's normal as long as her weight is still within the normal adult range. You will also notice that when she's weaned she eats a lot less than when she was a baby but don't worry. Babies need a lot of food to grow but once they finish growing they don't eat as much. Instead of consuming several large meals a day they will eat less and eat on and off all day. Keep us posted on her progress!
The last hand feeding you drop should be at bedtime because you don't want her to go to sleep with an empty crop. While she's weaning you should provide her with lots of nutritious foods all day for her to pick at and taste. Keep weighing her while weaning to make sure she doesn't start to drop too much weight. While weaning, her crop will start to shrink. Adult birds don't have a huge crop like babies do because they need to be more streamlined for flying. She may lose some weight while weaning and that's normal as long as her weight is still within the normal adult range. You will also notice that when she's weaned she eats a lot less than when she was a baby but don't worry. Babies need a lot of food to grow but once they finish growing they don't eat as much. Instead of consuming several large meals a day they will eat less and eat on and off all day. Keep us posted on her progress!
